Written by Saf Malik
BT headed to court on Monday, facing £1.3 billion class action over allegations it overcharged its landline customers – many of whom are elderly.
The case began at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) on behalf of over three million customers.
More than three million people could receive £300-£400 if Justin Le Patourel, the man representing the consumers in court wins the case.
In 2017, Ofcom said that BT charged too much for home phones since 2015 and the company were made to lower their prices after that.
Le Patourel said: “We believe BT has been systematically overcharging millions of customers over many years, and those customers could be owed hundreds of pounds each.
“Time really is of the essence. More than 40% of our claimants are aged over 70, and over 150 of them are dying every day. It really is vital that BT should refund every one of them as soon as possible.”
BT has denied that the pricing at the time was “anti-competitive” and would be “robustly defending our position at the trial”.
